National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)

We’re very excited to announce the launch of NFER Online Assessments (NOA). Our new key stage 2 reading and maths online assessments are now available to purchase for the upcoming academic year. Find out more 👇

We have recently published a three-part feature length blog post series looking at how pupil numbers and future projections have changed and how schools, local authorities, trusts and the Government can and have responded. Find out more at the links below 👇 ⚪ Part 1️⃣ - “Just a little drop?” - Pupil numbers are falling slower than previous expectations - http://bit.ly/3Tj2f33 ⚪ Part 2️⃣ - What happens when pupil numbers fall? - https://bit.ly/4gGL71h ⚪ Part 3️⃣ - Fewer pupils, more unfilled places, increasing deficits: What can be done? - https://bit.ly/4dJkZQx

📬 The October edition of NFER Direct has now been sent to subscribers, and it features new insights on falling pupil numbers, the impact of Covid-19 on reading and maths attainment, tutoring and much more... To read this or subscribe for future issues, visit http://bit.ly/2MyAIsP

Our Chief Executive Carole Willis has called on the Government to reimburse schools if employer national insurance contributions are increased.   We estimate the addition of 1% to the headline employer NICs rate would result, at minimum, in a cost of £175-£200 million to school budgets in England for the forthcoming year. This would be £350-£400 million per year with a 2% increase.   This could add significant strain to school budgets, particularly at a time when budgets are already stretched. Last year, our Cost-of-Living report found that school leaders were taking difficult decisions to cut spending on learning resources and on buildings and maintenance in order to balance budgets. Without additional funding for schools, budgets would be further stretched by an increase to employer NICs.   Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3kU5-iK

A very exciting announcement from our NFER International colleagues 👇

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published our evaluation of the early roll-out of the Early Career Framework (ECF), a two year professional development programme for early career teachers (ECTs) featuring training, mentoring, and self-directed study. The ECF was introduced as part of the Department for Education's 2019 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy. The evaluation highlights a range of perceived benefits of the early roll-out, including an improvement in ECTs’ teaching practice, self-efficacy, confidence and job satisfaction. However, participants also faced significant workload challenges and the retention rate of teachers was similar to those who did not take part. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4haxQOv

There's still a few days left for organisations to express an interest in our next Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey. To find out more about securing up-to-date views from a representative sample of teachers and senior leaders in publicly funded schools in England, visit http://bit.ly/3NxosGT

Primary school pupil numbers are projected to fall by a further 200,000 by 2027/28, and while this can create opportunities for schools, it also means having to maintain buildings with funding for fewer pupils. In the third and final part of our feature length series on pupil numbers, we look at the excess capacity in primary schools, in the past, present and future, and how schools, LAs, trusts and the government can respond to falling rolls. Read the post here 👉 bit.ly/4dJkZQx

The final part of our blog post series on pupil numbers will be published tomorrow, looking at how schools, local authorities, trusts and the Government can respond to the challenge of falling pupil numbers. To read the first two parts of this blog post series, click on the links below: Part 1: “Just a little drop?” - Pupil numbers are falling slower than previous expectations - http://bit.ly/3Tj2f33 Part 2: What happens when pupil numbers fall? - http://bit.ly/4gGL71h

Pupil absence rates have dramatically increased following the Covid-19 pandemic and remain above pre-pandemic levels, particularly in secondary schools, where absence rates are notably higher than in primary schools. As a result, we have launched a new research project which will explore what schools are doing to prevent short-term absences from escalating into longer-term issues, and are looking for secondary maintained schools to get involved. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/3ZRMa8B